We Wear the Mask
by phoenix360
Summary: "Why do you hate me?" With the help of Cisco's inter-dimensional powers, Barry is given the chance to find out the biggest mystery of all. Five times in five timelines he asks Eobard Thawne this and each and every time he is given a different answer. If only the speedster could separate the truth from the lies.
1. Chapter 1

_WE wear the mask that grins and lies,_  
 _It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes_  
 _\- We Wear the Mask, Paul Lawrence Dunbar._

* * *

 _"Go ahead, Barry, ask it."_  
 _"Why did you kill my mother?"_  
 _"Because I hate you."_

Barry Allen lay in bed, unable to sleep and replaying those words over and over and over again in his head.

That conversation between them seemed like eons ago; a tense, long-awaited for moment that seemed to bring up more questions than answers, with Eobard Thawne - the Reverse-Flash, the Man in Yellow, Fake Doctor Harrison Wells - refusing to answer the biggest one of all: _Why did he hate him?_

Since Eddie's sacrifice that erased Eobard from existence, since the black hole that had almost wiped them all out, Barry had found himself tormented by this. After all, what had future him done that was _so bad_ that one of his enemies would go so far as to travel back in time to kill him as a child and erase him? To be the cause of that destructive, poisonous darkness he had glimpsed in Thawne's eyes that day in the pipeline when he spoke of The Flash from his timeline.

Despite his best efforts, Barry found that he had to know the truth. No matter what the answer, he _must_ know. Only then would he have some sort of closure and be able to move on.

It doesn't take long for him to realise, though, that the only way he's ever going to get the answer he's searching for is by tracking down an alternate timeline where their Eobard is still alive and asking him instead. However, to do such a thing would require the ability to see and travel to alternate dimensions, a power which he doesn't possess.

Lucky for him, he knows someone who does.

* * *

Cisco - or The Vibe, as he now goes by - is understandably reluctant when Barry comes to him asking for his help.

"I don't know, man. Hate to state the obvious here, but don't you think that's kind of dangerous? Who knows what'll happen when you confront Wells-" he paused and then corrected himself. "I mean Thawne. What if he attacks you? What if he attacks _me_? I really don't want to experience dying again, Barry, because it really _sucked._ "

"Don't worry, I won't let anything bad happen to you. _Trust me_ ," he reassured his friend. He knew that Eobard Thawne was a sore spot for Cisco due to the father-son relationship the two had shared and the betrayal that had ultimately broken it.

"If you do this for me, we can make TGIF Movie Night an official thing?"

"TGIF Movie Night already _is_ an official thing though," and Barry inwardly kicked himself because he was right. It had become a weekly tradition of sorts for the two of them, meeting up at one another's houses and watching a wide array of films, popcorn in hand.

"Okay, then how about this? I'll give you a super speed piggyback ride."

"Tempting…"

Realising it was going to take a lot more to make his friend accept, the speedster resorted to desperate measures, grabbing the mechanical engineering genius by the upper arms, a puppy dog look now gracing his boyish face. "Please, Cisco, I _need_ this."

The Latino let out a groan. "Dammit, Barry, that's cheating!" He then sighed. "Okay. But, you _owe_ me for this."

"Thank you, Cisco. You have no idea how much this means to me," Barry grinned back and, with a _whoosh_ and a gust of wind, he was already decked out in his Flash suit. "Alright, I'm ready, let's do this!"

"Hey, Barry, how do you know Thawne won't go all 'A Few Good Men' on you?" Cisco asked as he, too, got ready.

"Huh?"

Seeing his quizzical look, Cisco elaborated, "You know, ' _You can't handle the truth!_ '? What if he refuses to talk to you or just lies? 'Cause he was really good at that."

Barry pondered this. He did have a point… Finally, he suggested, "Then, instead of just travelling to one timeline, why don't we go to several? So if he does lie, we'll have others to fallback on. He's bound to tell the truth in _one_ of them."

Cisco shook his head. " _Barry and Cisco's Excellent Adventure_. And it's only Monday..."

He laughed. "Look on the bright side, it'll be something to brag about to the family when you next see them."

"You're right! I can see it now: 'So, Francisco, what'd you get up in the week to disappoint me this time?' 'Well, Mom, me and my freakishly fast best friend visited a couple of alternate worlds to have a chat with my evil, ex boss who killed me once and was, FYI, erased from existence!' So, basically, just your average week at S.T.A.R Labs."

The two fell into a fit of giggles, resembling a bunch of schoolboys more than the superheroes they actually were.

However, once the moment arrived for them to head off and start 'dimension-hopping' as Cisco liked to call it, they couldn't have been more serious.

"No matter what, we stick together," Barry promised, hand gripping the other's tightly.

"Agreed. Oh, and the second Dr. Evil uses his vibrating hand attack-thingy, we're outta there!"

The matter settled, Cisco took a deep breath and used his powers to locate a timeline which was similar to their own and had a still living - or existing, to be more accurate - Eobard Thawne within it so he and The Flash could enter it.

Finally he found one.

* * *

 _"I will say...it's been an education. Watching you grow up all these years - science fairs and soccer games. No hint, no sign, no trace of the man you will be one day. For whom I have nothing but hate._

 _And, to be clear, nothing is forgiven. There will be a reckoning. I promise you, Barry Allen, that you will die."_

The Flash sees Thawne standing over the prone, comatose form of the Barry Allen of this timeline and, for a second, he is seized with both a great rage and a great fear. Rage at seeing _that man_ in the flesh again and hearing his words. And fear at seeing the other him so vulnerable, at the fake Harrison Well's mercy. His life literally rests in his hands and, if he so willed it, he could kill him right there and then.

The fact that he knows he won't changes nothing. Barry wants to run over and rip the other him away, keep him safe from Eobard Thawne's clutches and the hardships and heartbreak he knows will come as a result. He wants to protect him from the manipulations yet to come.

But he can't. He can't because he promised Cisco that he wouldn't. The Latino metahuman had stressed to him the gravity of travelling to alternate worlds and timelines and how it was not to be taken lightly. How they couldn't, wouldn't, shouldn't interfere too much, lest they unintentionally make things worse.

All he was allowed to do was enter, talk to Eobard, get his answer, and then leave. That and nothing more.

With this fresh in mind, Barry entered the lab room, Cisco waiting outside.

Eobard frowned as he heard him approach from behind and, upon turning to look at the source, his blue eyes widened when he caught sight of the Scarlet Speedster. They quickly narrowed, however, when he took in his appearance.

After what felt like an eternity of tense silence, he snorted. "You know, for a second there, I really thought you were him. The Flash, bane of my existence, back from non-existence to ruin things for me _yet again._ "

He smirked. "But you're not him, are you?"

Barry took a step towards Eobard. " _I know_ ," he said, fists clenching with anger. "I know everything, _Thawne_. What you've done and what you're planning to do."

Eobard's expression turned menacing. "Do you now? And how do you plan to stop me?"

It doesn't escape him how the man edged closer. The Barry Allen of this time was still hooked up in his bed, helpless underneath Eobard's looming figure. His hand slid down to where his heart was and ever so slightly began to vibrate. The warning couldn't have been more clear.

"I don't." The Flash sighed, hating how this was the way things had to be. "That's not why I came here."

Thawne raised an eyebrow, sceptical. "So, if you're not here to stop me, then why are you?"

"To talk. I have questions I need to ask. Questions that only you can answer."

And then, because Eobard still had his hand poised right over other Barry's heart as if it were a dagger, the speedster, hands raised in a 'I come in peace' gesture, slowly retreated and took a seat on the end of the bed.

For a tense second, Eobard Thawne sized him up, no doubt trying to decide whether he was a threat or not.

Finally, much to Barry's relief, he stepped away to lean against the medicine cabinet next to the bed, crossing his arms.

"Very well. Ask away, Flash," he smiled, though it did not reach his cold, blue eyes.

And so he asked the question that wouldn't stop plaguing him. "Why do you hate me?"

Eobard let out a harsh laugh. " _That's_ what you came from another timeline to ask me? I'm disappointed."

He cocked his head and studied Barry for a second or two before stating, "I don't hate you. Just like I don't hate our friend over here. Why should I? Nothing about you two resembles him. Different age, different costume, different life." He shook his head. "No, the only Barry Allen I hate is the one from _my_ future. Who, may I add, no longer exists."

"I don't understand. If you don't hate me, then why…?"

"Do you know what the opposite of hate is?" Eobard asked, much to Barry's confusion. "It's not love and vice-versa. It is indifference. And that's exactly how I feel towards you, Mr. Allen. I don't feel anything for you. You are _nothing_ to me."

Barry swallowed a lump in his throat and shook his head, "You're lying. There's no way that's how you honestly feel about me."

He didn't know what he had been expecting, but it certainly wasn't that. Regardless, it hurt. Everything about it, from how the man answered with total ease, to the words themselves, because, if there was anything worse than being hated, it was to have meant nothing at all.

Eobard shrugged. "Believe what you want, but I've watched the you of this time grow from boy to teen, teen to man, and every step of the way I haven't felt a single thing. Not a shred of remorse, compassion, or concern. Know why? Because you're an anomaly, a mistake. You were never meant to exist and, soon enough, you won't. Well, in this time, at least."

The man smirked as he bent down to ruffle the sleeping Barry's hair, a move that the speedster was sure he did solely to get a rise out of him.

"What's the matter, Flash? You asked me what my feelings were towards you and I gave you my answer. You are but a means to an end, nothing more, nothing less. I will use you for the sole purpose of returning back to my home and, once you have served that purpose and are no longer of any use to me, I'll dispose of you. Satisfied?"

"No. No, I'm not," Barry answered truthfully, standing up and getting ready to make his leave. He didn't see himself getting anything more out of this conversation. Best to leave now before things escalated.

Still, wanting to give it one last shot, he asked, "Okay, so you don't give a damn about me. Just- Could you at least tell me why you hate future me so much?"

Eobard Thawne grinned an unnerving grin. "Well, that's between me and the Flash from my timeline now, isn't it?"

* * *

 _ **Just so we're clear, after I kill you, I'm going to kill them, and then I'm going to kill your father. I always win, Flash!"**_

 _"Eddie! What did you do!? **What did you do!?** What did you do!?"_

They don't have much time in the second world. As they enter, Eddie has just shot himself and the Eobard Thawne of this time has already started to show signs that he is disintegrating into nothingness.

Lucky for them, the alternate Flash and Cisco are both unconscious, while Joe and Iris are far too preoccupied with the dying police detective to notice them. And, as for Dr. Stein, Caitlin, and Ronnie, they will never know they were ever here thanks to The Vibe's ability to render himself undetectable to security cameras.

"NO! No! Eddie, no, don't! You need to stay with me, okay? Stay!"

Running up to the kneeling Reverse Flash, Barry grabbed him by his shoulders so they could face one another. "Why, Thawne? Why do you hate me?"

Eyes wide and staring off into the distance, his enemy's appearance changed from Harrison Wells to the real one of Eobard Thawne. It was the face of a stranger, the face of a man that now, thanks to Eddie Thawne, would never be.

"Hate you? I don't hate you," the man let out a weak chuckle, a small smile playing on his lips. "I _pity_ you. I've controlled your life for so long, Barry… Methodically, coldly… How will you get along without me? What will you do without me there to guide you, reassure you, protect you, _push_ you? You _need_ me."

"You're wrong. I _don't._ And neither does Caitlin and Cisco. We can all get along fine without you." Despite his efforts, Barry couldn't hide the quiver in his voice.

"Oh, but you do. You might not realise it now, but one day you will. You'll see that, if not for me, you wouldn't be standing here, the man you are today." He reached up to touch Barry's face, but, before his fingertips could graze him, they, too, started to break away. "You're just a puppet whose strings have been cut. How can you hope to pick yourself up and walk on your own when you've depended on someone else to help you do it all your life?"

Cracks - as if he were made of crumbling stone - started appearing all over the man's body, floating upwards into the air until they faded from sight. Terror replaced Eobard's expression as he stared at his arms - or what remained of them - as more and more of him started to chip away and disappear.

With the last of his being, he let out a howl of despair that echoed all around.

And, just like that, the Eobard Thawne of this time was gone. No life, no death, no sign of previous existence. Nothing.

Shakily, Barry rose to his feet and left with Cisco before their presence was noticed.

* * *

 _ _"_ Go ahead, Barry, ask it."_  
 _"Why did you kill my mother?"_  
 _"Because I_ hate _you. Not you now, you years from now."_  
 _"In the future."_  
 _"In_ a _future, yes. We're enemies, rivals, opposites, reverses of one another."_  
 _"What- Wh-why were we enemies?"_  
 _"It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter anymore."_

"Yes it does!" Barry interrupted before this world's Eobard could continue. "It matters to me! I have a right to know, Thawne. _Tell me!_ "

"Barry, _calm down_ ," Cisco hissed from behind, glancing over his shoulder at the entrance. They didn't need to rush like the previous timeline, but they did need to be more discreet. Though The Vibe's powers ensured they wouldn't be spotted talking to Thawne, there was still the risk that they might be heard.

Eobard simply stared back at him, even now face frustratingly passive.

"No, Barry, it doesn't," and his tone carried an air of finality. "Because that history doesn't apply to you. You're not him yet - Future you, that is."

Barry growled. "Fine. Then why do you hate _me?_ "

"I did hate you once…" Eobard mused, facing the back of his cell. He paused and laughed under his breath. "Do you know how many times I would watch you and have to restrain myself from killing you right there and then? How every time I so much as _looked_ at you, I would feel nothing but rage?"

"No, but I think I'm starting to understand…" Barry responded, his green eyes burning holes through Thawne. "So, what about now?"

"Now? You may find this hard to believe, but I've come to care for you very much," Eobard walked closer to shield and placed his hand on it, staring at him with a tender expression that could only be described as paternal. "Now, somehow, I know what Joe and Henry feel when they look on you with pride. With _love_."

He'd already heard this before, but Barry still reacted the exact same way he did the first time. "No. No! Don't you _ever_ say that to me! You don't get the right to say that!"

"Oh, I don't? I think you'll find that I do. I have been just as much of a father to you then Joe and Henry have, maybe even more so. Remember, Barry, If not for me, you wouldn't even _exist_. I created you! Everything that you are and will ever be is thanks to _me_."

"No, I don't owe you a goddamn thing!" Unable to stop himself, Barry banged his fist against the glass, so wishing he could get his hands on Thawne.

"I understand that rage you're feeling, but it's all the truth. When I look at you now, when I see the kind of man you've become - your strength, your heroism, the justice you stand for - I feel nothing but love. Love for the son I never had. You _and_ Cisco."

Behind him, Barry heard a choked sound escape from Cisco, as if he'd had to restrain himself from swearing. When he turned, he saw his friend standing behind him, looking the angriest he'd ever seen him. Thawne's speech must have hit close to home since, up until now, he had refused to interact with his former boss, going out of his way to hide, merely observing.

"Cisco, I was wondering when I'd be seeing you." Eobard smiled. "You know, you don't have to hide behind Barry like that. You've got nothing to be afraid of, I'm not going to hurt you."

"You already have."

"Forgive me for the deceit, but it changes nothing about my feelings towards you. Everything I said about how you've shown me what it's like to have a son was the truth," Eobard replied softly, having misunderstood the meaning behind the metahuman's stony words.

"Yeah, I really felt the love when you shoved your fist through my chest and _crushed my heart!_ " Cisco hissed vehemently, tears pooling in his eyes.

Confusion replaced Eobard's previously gentle expression as he tried to make sense of what he'd just heard. "What? What did you just say?"

But Cisco ignored his question, continuing. "In another timeline, I found out about your secret and you killed me. You called me a son then, too, not that it stopped you. And, since then, I've had to relive it _over and over_ in my nightmares. Because of _you_. So don't you _dare_ stand there and tell me that you love us!"

"Cisco…" Eobard had the decency to look repentant, not that it meant much to either of them. "I'm sorry. That you found out and I was forced to dispose of you. That you remember."

"But not for killing me, right?" Cisco smiled bitterly, his tears falling freely now. "See, Doctor Wells - _Thawne_ \- that's how I know you're full of crap. You don't hurt the ones you love! You don't _kill_ them!" He rubbed his damp cheek. "I've got nothing more to say to you."

With one last look, a mixture of hurt, grief, anger and contempt, Cisco turned on his heel and stormed off, practically smashing his fist down on the button that would close the entrance to the man's containment cell.

"Cisco!" Barry was by his side in seconds, concerned for his friend. "I'm sorr-"

"It's cool, dude, don't worry about it. Just getting some closure of my own, that's all." Cisco wiped the tears from his face. "You know, I hate how, even now that he's gone, he _still_ makes me feel this way. That I still care."

"Yeah, believe me, I know," Barry said sympathetically, patting him on the back.

Taking a deep breath, Cisco calmed his nerves before forcing a smile. "Come on, let's get out of here and head over to the next timeline."


	2. Chapter 2

_"You didn't save her? Why? Why? You could have had the life you wanted. You could have had everything you ever wanted!"_  
 _"I already do."_  
 _"_ _ **Not for long.**_ _"_

The next world they encounter is the first to have gone down a different path to their own.

Eddie did not die, whilst The Flash managed to defeat the Reverse-Flash. It brings Barry some satisfaction to know that, at least in this timeline, the team will be able to get their hands on a confession and prove his father's innocence.

But, as they enter the Pipeline and approach the cell, he realises that getting a confession - or anything, for that matter - out of his defeated enemy might prove to be something of a losing battle.

Eobard Thawne is not in the mood for talking. His fifteen year-plan to return back to his home having come to ruin, he'd lost all composure and was now desperate to escape, either to think up a Plan B or to get revenge on The Flash. Most likely both. All they see is a red bolt of lightning, going round and round, and Barry half wonders if the man was trying to phase through the cell or was doing it out of pure frustration.

The frenzied movements came to a stop as soon as they did.

" _You!_ " Eobard growled in the deep voice of the Man in Yellow, his hands pressed up against the glass and glowing red eyes focused only on The Flash. A caged, feral animal, seething and full of bloodlust, immediately sprang to the speedster's mind. " _You ruined_ _ **everything!**_ "

Ignoring his raging, Barry asked what he came to ask. "I have just one question for you, Thawne: Why do you hate me?"

Eobard sneered. "Why? Do you really need it spelled out to you? I gave you the chance to go back in time and save your mother, to ensure your father was never wrongly imprisoned. To have the life you dreamed of! Not only did you _not_ take it, you went out of your way to leave me stranded here in the past by _destroying_ my only means of returning to my own timeline! Well, congratulations! Your father is still in prison, your mother is still dead, and all those people I killed to protect you, to ensure my plan succeeded, died for nothing! Does that answer your question, Flash?"

Barry clenched his teeth at the vitriol that was been thrown his way. If this carried on, he was going to lose it and end up doing something he'd regret...

Trying to keep his temper in check, he hissed, "Why should I just let you go after everything you've done, to me, to all of us?"

" _I just want to go home!_ "

"And I want a confession to get my father out of prison! You deserve to pay for your crimes, Thawne, and that is what this is. This is justice! You're the bad guy here, not me!" The young man snapped, unable to stop himself.

"Oh really? You had the power to right all the wrongs I committed and you didn't! All the blood of those innocents who died - Mason Bridge, _your own mother_ \- is just as much on your hands as mine, Flash. I may have been responsible for their deaths, but you chose not to give them a second chance at life!"

" _Answer the question!_ Why do you hate the me years from now? Future me?" Barry's body was trembling with the effort it took him to restrain himself.

Eobard smiled nastily. "You really want to know? Well too bad, Flash, you'll just have to keep on guessing because I'll never tell! Or you can just wait and see. After all, you and him are one and the same. I thought you were different, but I was wrong. I take back everything I said about you, Barry Allen. You aren't my greatest creation, you're my shame, my regret. My greatest _failure!_ "

Cisco placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to steer him towards the exist. "Barry…"

When his former mentor saw that he'd hit a nerve, the glowing red eyes and deep, demonic voice returned. " _When I escape from here - and I_ will, _Flash - the first thing I'm going to do is kill everyone you love and hold dear. Joe, Iris, your father, I'll make you watch as they all die. And then I'll kill you, but only after I've ruined this timeline and made you regret not ever resetting it!_ "

Something inside Barry snapped then and, seeing red, he lunged towards the cell. He didn't care if he had to phase through it or smash it to pieces, he _would_ get his hands on Eobard Thawne, and when he did-

" _Barry, no!_ " He heard Cisco cry out.

And, suddenly, he was not in the Pipeline anymore, but back in S.T.A.R Labs, right where they started.

* * *

"That's it, _no more dimension-hopping!_ "

"Wh-What do you mean?" He grabbed Cisco's arm before the mechanical engineering genius had the chance to walk away. "Come on, man, we can't give up now!"

The young man tore his arm away and Barry realised that this was not friendly, geeky Cisco Ramon he was talking too right now, it was the metahuman The Vibe. "What did I tell you about interfering with the alternate timelines? Even the smallest action can cause far-reaching consequences that we cannot even comprehend! Do you have any idea what might have happened if you'd actually managed to attack him? What if he'd escaped? Or killed you!?" Cisco let out an aggravated sigh before brushing his hair back. "Face it, Barry, he's getting to the both of us. It's best we quit now before things turn ugly and we end up regretting this."

He knew he was right, that if Caitlin, Joe, and the others were here they'd be saying the exact same thing, but Barry couldn't let it go. Not yet. Not now when he was so close.

"One more timeline," he pleaded. " _Please,_ Cisco _,_ just one more timeline and, I promise you, we'll call it quits. I know it's stupid and selfish and totally irresponsible of me, but I need to know."

Cisco closed his eyes and groaned. "Okay, but only one more. I've had just about all I can take of Wellobard for one day!"

* * *

 _"You want to kill me, go ahead. I won't fight you, but…just tell the police what you did, get my dad out of prison!"_  
 _"I don't want to kill you, Barry, I need you. And...I also did not anticipate, as difficult as the past fifteen years have been for me, how much I would come to love working with you. With all of you. And yet, that does not change what needs to happen."_  
 _"Then face me now!"_  
 _"Oh, we will face each other again. I promise you, soon._ Very, very soon. _"_

They appear just as this timeline's Eobard Thawne has finished talking to Barry and the rest of Team Flash over the speakers and has changed into his Reverse-Flash isn't until he's pocketed his cell phone and is about to depart that he realises that he's not alone and sees them standing to the side, watching him.

Barry hunched into a defensive stance, just in the likelihood that the Man in Yellow decided to fight rather than flee. Truth be told, he doesn't have high hopes for this last one. Given the circumstances, he'll be lucky to even get an answer, let alone a satisfying one.

Shockingly, Eobard does neither, instead pulling off his hood and looking at Barry with an expression that is both one of amusement and, oddly, fondness. It's moments like these that the speedster hates the most because, as he told Joe, despite knowing that this is the man who ruined his life, it's hard to shut off those old feelings he felt when he believed he was really Harrison Wells, his friend, his mentor who offered him advice and support.

"Now, Barry, I know I said we'd be facing each other again soon, but I didn't mean _this_ soon. I'm afraid you're just going to have to wait a little bit longer. _Until then, Flash._ " His eyes glowing red, he went to pull down his mask.

"Wait!" One second there was a flash of red, then yellow, and the next Barry was blocking the Reverse-Flash's path. "Listen, I'm not here to fight you, all I want is one thing-"

"If it's a confession then you're wasting you're time. It's too late for that."

 _You're wrong! It's never too late!_ He wanted to argue back, but then he saw Cisco shaking his head at him warningly and stopped himself. He didn't need to be reminded that the second he deviated from his original goal or things took a turn for the worse, they'd both be back in their own timeline. And, if _that_ happened, then he would most likely never get an opportunity like this again.

So, with that in mind, Barry tried hard to remain calm. "It's not that. All I want is for you to answer one question for me. Do that and you can go."

Eobard scoffed. "Is this some kind of a trick? A poor attempt to distract me?"

"It's not." Cisco spoke up. "He's telling the truth. No one else knows you're up here. "

There is some deliberation and then... "Fine. But _only_ one question."

Nodding his head, Barry asked for the last time the question which he was so desperate to get an answer to. "Why do you hate me? Why do you want to kill me so much?"

Eobard sighed. "I don't hate you, Barry. I despise the man you're going to become years from now, but not you as you are now. Not now when I've gotten to know you and worked alongside you. It's...complicated, to say the very least."

"And I don't want to kill you either. I do recall telling you that. It is because I need you, yes, but…" And then the older man, his enemy, hesitated.

"But?" Barry pressed, eager to hear the rest of what he was going to say.

"...My sole motivation has always been to return home, and, throughout these past fifteen years, I've never once wavered in my efforts to see it come to fruition. However…" his face softened then. "I did not anticipate that I would come to care for you, for _all_ of you, as much as I did. That I would find myself actually _saddened_ about having to say goodbye to you, Cisco, and Caitlin and to see all this," Eobard motioned towards them and at S.T.A.R Labs, "come to an end."

"There's not much I'm going to miss from this backwards century, but I _will_ miss each and every single one of you."

Barry didn't focus on any of that. His patience had finally reached its limit and he didn't think he could take anymore of this emotional rollercoaster he'd been on since they'd first set off. His mental state wouldn't allow it. "Then why do you hate The Flash of your timeline? What happened to start off your rivalry? Was is my fault? Was it yours? Tell me, _please!_ "

He fired off question after question, gripping the man's suit. He expected Eobard to tut and mockingly respond with something like, "Now, now, Mr. Allen, that's more than one question." Or to vibrate his face at super speed and growl cryptically in that nightmarish, deep voice, " _You'll find out soon enough,_ " before shoving him aside and speeding off.

But he didn't.

He just stared back at him, his face unreadable. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, whether he was even taking the question seriously or not.

Finally, after a brief silence, he murmured, "You don't know?"

Barry shook his head.

"Pity, neither do I."

His green eyes widened and, for once, the scarlet speedster was speechless. He'd been anticipating a number of answers, but _that_ had not been one of them. To say Barry was unsatisfied would be a huge understatement.

" _'You don't know'?_ " Cisco remarked, voicing what Barry was too stunned, too outraged to say.

Eobard nodded and then turned his attention back The Flash, a melancholic smile on his face. "I don't know how to explain it. Once I loved you, _idolised_ you. I was your biggest fan. And then, suddenly, one day, I hated you and I didn't know why. And now…" A multitude of emotions crossed his face in that second before settling on one that could only be described as defeated. "Now I just don't know anymore..."

What Barry said next he never thought he'd ever say to the Man in Yellow, the one who he'd grown up both fearing and hating. "You know, all this time I thought you were this evil monster, but now I'm starting to think you're as much a victim as I am," the young man whispered under his breath, tears in his eyes. "Thawne, I think you need help."

As if feeling that the display of vulnerability being shown by the both of them was a sign of weakness, Eobard growled before shoving his mask down to cover his face. " _Nice try, Flash._ " And, before Barry could even react, he was lying on the ground, having been slammed there by him. " _I think it's time I paid a visit to my failure of an ancestor, Eddie, and dear Iris. Catch me if you can._ "

There was a gust of wind and, if the red static out of the corner of his eyes was anything to go by, Barry knew that the Reverse-Flash was gone. He made no move to follow. He was tired, so very tired, physically and emotionally.

The speedster heard footsteps approach and then Cisco was standing over him, offering a hand to help him up.

"Hey, Cisco, let's go home," he muttered, turning his back on the direction the Eobard Thawne of this world had fled off too.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm done now," he sighed.

* * *

Barry and Cisco never told Caitlin or the others about how they travelled to multiple alternate worlds to converse with Eobard Thawne. The young superhero was smart enough to realise that he'd only get a scolding for doing something so reckless and how he should have at least them told them, etc. The fact that it had been a waste of time wouldn't exactly help their case much either.

He did tell one person though: Henry Allen, his father.

The man had been somewhat overwhelmed by everything he'd told him, but, despite this, when all was said and done, the advice he gave to Barry by the end of the visit made all the difference

 _"So you didn't get the answer you were looking for? That's a shame, but what can you do?" He stopped Barry just as he went to speak. "It's not important. Don't let that son of a bitch's grudge define your life. I may not know the Barry Allen from the future he came from, but I know the one sitting in front of me and that's you. And I'll be damned if I'm going to let anyone tell me you're nothing less than a hero and a son a father wouldn't be proud of."_

 _He smiled then. "You're not him. Sure, you may become him one day, but then there's also a chance you might not. There's no way of knowing, but don't set yourself up for failure before you can find out. Don't start doubting yourself, because the second you do, son, you've let him win."_

Barry had decided to take his father's advice to heart, so, as of now, he was done with Eobard Thawne/The Reverse-Flash. Instead, he would focus his efforts on being the superhero, The Flash, as well as his friends and family. Iris was still grieving and in need of comfort, the metahumans Captain Cold set free were still on the loose.

And then there was Cisco...

"You know, on second thought, I think I've changed my mind," the Latino squeaked before breaking into a run. Not that he got far since his best friend was The Flash after all. In mere seconds, Barry was blocking his way. " _Dude, you really don't have to do this!_ "

"No, I promised you a super speed piggyback ride and a super speed piggyback ride is what you're getting," Barry grinned. "Come on, you'll love it!"

"Yeah, I'm sure I will...right before I lose my hold and end up looking like roadkill on the ground!"

Barry was unfazed. "You know I'd never let that happen. I'd catch you before you even had time to hit the ground," he reassured his friend as he led him - or dragged, if you want to be technical - towards the empty field where said piggyback ride would be taking place. "Would you prefer I carry you bridal-style instead?"

"Let me think about that? How about no! I still have my dignity, you know," Cisco said as he climbed up onto the speeder's back, wrapping his arms around his neck and his legs around his waist.

Once he was comfortable enough, he muttered darkly, "No one must ever know about this."

"Don't worry, it'll be our little secret," Barry laughed before bending down into a crouch. "Just tell me when."

"I feel like something should be said to mark this occasion, but what?" Cisco commented suddenly. After a pause of silence, he suddenly, much to Barry's confusion and amusement, begun to sing under his breath, " _Flash! A-ah! King of the impossible! He's for every one of us! Stand for every one of us! He'll save with a mighty hand every man, every woman, every child, with a mighty flash!_ That works."

"Yeah, wrong Flash."

"You're right, our one's much better." He felt Cisco's grip on him tighten and, focusing, shifted his gaze forward and waited for the signal. "Okay, enough talking, I'm ready! I don't care if I fall off and die, this is going to be totally worth it! _Run, Barry, run!_ "

Cisco let out a comically loud scream as Barry did just that, zooming off into the distance in the blink of an eye.

* * *

Apathy? Pity? Love? Hate? A mystery? Which one was the truth? Why had Eobard Thawne hated him so much?

He supposed it didn't matter anymore.

He wouldn't grieve over the past or torment himself over the future. He would live in the present, make it count and be the good man, the hero, he knew himself to be.

He was him.

He was Barry Allen.

He was the fastest man alive.

He was The Flash.


End file.
